Moose research confirms high mortality for calves

DULUTH, Minn. (AP) — A study of Minnesota moose calves is confirming the high mortality rate for newborns.

The Minnesota Department of Natural Resources captured 49 moose calves and fitted them with GPS transmitter collars. Within days of finishing their work, 22 of the newborns already had died, the Duluth News Tribune reported (http://bit.ly/ZyboGk).

Most were killed by bears and wolves.

Ron Moen, a moose researcher at the University of Duluth, says a moose population can thrive with only 40 percent of calves surviving. But he says Minnesota moose calf survival has dropped below 30 percent in recent years, and this research should help explain why.